London Mayor given tips by Blair

Updated 23.31 Thu Apr 24 2008

Keywords: Tony Blair, Ken Livingstone, London, Boris Johnson

Ken Livingstone has welcomed support from Tony Blair and Alistair Campbell in his bid to retain the London mayoralty.

It has been revealed that the New Labour big-wigs, who both battled against Mr Livingstone's initial election in 2000, have given advice to his team on how to beat the Conservatives' Boris Johnson in the closely-fought contest.

"Anyone that wants to see Labour going forward and is supporting me is welcome" - Ken Livingstone

Labour sources stressed that Mr Blair and his former communications chief were involved only on an informal basis and were not taking up official roles in Mr Livingstone's team.

But the mayor, who last month joked that his proudest achievement was to have "ground the New Labour machine into the dust" when he ran as an independent in 2000, made clear he was happy to receive help from them.

"Anyone that wants to see Labour going forward and is supporting me is welcome," he said.

With May 1 polling day looming, Mr Livingstone has warned Londoners not to pick their choice for mayor on the basis of "personality" and claimed that Mr Johnson did not have the competence to run the capital city.

Meanwhile, Mr Johnson has been highlighting his crime policies with a visit to a south London police station and the launch, alongside Tory leader David Cameron, of "crime mapping" proposals designed to give voters detailed information about offences in their neighbourhoods.

The involvement of Mr Blair and Mr Campbell in Labour's mayoral campaign is an indication of how important victory in London is to the party, which fears defeat could add momentum to Mr Cameron's push to unseat Gordon Brown in the next General Election.

Polling suggests that Mr Johnson presents the biggest challenge to Mr Livingstone's position since the role of mayor was created.

The latest polls suggest the race for city hall is neck and neck, with the two main candidates within only a point of each other.

The Sunday Times poll put Mr Livingstone on 45 per cent, narrowly ahead of Mr Johnson on 44 per cent.

Former Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner, Brian Paddick, standing for the Liberal Democrats, is trailing on 9 per cent.

Also standing are Alan Craig, Christian Choice, Gerard Batten, UKIP, Lindsey German, Left List party, Matt O'Connor, English Democrats, Richard Barnbrook, BNP, Sian Berry, Greens, Winston McKenzie, Independent.